Active Directory Schema

The Microsoft® Active Directory® schema contains formal definitions of every object class that can be created in an Active Directory forest. The schema also contains formal definitions of every attribute that can exist in an Active Directory object.

This section provides an overview of the Active Directory schema, including:

• Schema Implementation.
• Characteristics of Object classes.
• Characteristics of Attributes.
• The Abstract Schema.

For more information about schema programming, including reading the schema and defining new classes and attributes in the schema, see Extending the Schema.

For more information, including reference pages for the predefined schema classes, attributes, and attribute syntaxes, see the Active Directory Schema Reference in the Active Directory Reference.